Child Sexual Exploitation

A partnership of Staffordshire County Council, Stoke on Trent City Council, Staffordshire Police and the Office for the Police Crime Commisioner Staffordshire are running a campaign,'Know about CSE campaign' to raise awareness of the signs of CSE with professionals, businesses, parents and young people.

This toolkit includes various templates and ready to use materials that partners can use to support the campaign following its launch on 7 March 2016.

The Know About CSE campaign is designed to help people to understand child sexual exploitation, recognise the warning signs and encourage them to report their concerns.

The key messages are:

Your child is not too young to be a victim of child sexual exploitation.

It can happen to any child of any age and from any background - but there are often warning signs

Young people can sometimes be drawn into sexual exploitation, which means they may be rewarded for performing sex acts or watching sex acts.

Offenders are highly manipulative: they can use violence and fear, blackmail or even make the child feel guilty, worthless or feel that they’ve got no choice. These offenders are skilled at targeting and grooming young people.

They often offer something that the child needs or wants - food, money, drugs, alcohol, gifts, affection, accommodation, transport or a sense of belonging - and then draw them into a sexual relationship.

It’s common for young people to not realise they are a victim of sexual exploitation, or feel that it’s their fault, if they do. If this is happening to your child, they are unlikely to tell you.